Figure 10: Public Health Initiatives Work. Cigarette consumption grew rapidly during the first half of the last century and began declining beginning
with the Surgeon General’s 1964 report that tied lung cancer to smoking. While a number of factors, including advertising and distribution of free
cigarettes in army rations, drove up smoking in the early part of the century, a range of public antismoking policies implemented beginning in the
1970s (beige boxes), including tobacco tax increases, smoke-free laws, warning labels and advertising bans, has successfully driven down cigarette
consumption in the latter half of the century. There is usually a 20- to 30-year lag time between the onset of smoking and the development of lung
cancer, and the causal connection between tobacco use and lung cancer is clearly seen in the parallel trends of cigarette use and the corresponding
incidence of male lung cancer, peaking and declining with lag time of approximately 20 years. Adapted from “Achievements in Public Health, 1900-
1999: Tobacco Use -- United States, 1900-1999,” MMWR November 05, 1999 / 48( 43);986-993.

Although trends in the prevalence of obesity in the U.S. finally seem
to be stabilizing, the number of individuals classified as obese is
still at an all-time high. The latest figures indicate that more than
35% of adults and almost 17% of children and adolescents are
obese ( 23). Similar proportions of individuals are considered
physically inactive ( 17). These unparalleled levels of obesity and
physical inactivity are important, avoidable contributors of
approximately one third of cancer deaths ( 3).

$

The estimated direct medical costs
associated with treating cancer in 2007
were $103.8 billion dollars and $123.0
billion for costs associated with loss of
productivity due to premature death.

Research on a number of fronts indicates that if Americans were tomodify their lifestyle to include regular physical activity, a balanceddiet and a healthy weight, millions of people could reduce their riskof a cancer diagnosis. In recent years, several cities and stateshave adopted public policies to enable people to make healthierchoices. However, additional research is required to develop andimplement effective policy changes and media campaigns. Inaddition, continued fundamental research efforts are needed tobetter understand the biological mechanisms that link obesity andinsufficient physical activity with cancer. Armed with thisAACR Cancer Progress Report 2012